In 51 Countries Politicians Used Homophobic and Transphobic Rhetoric During Elections

Politicians in at least 51 countries resorted to homophobic or transphobic rhetoric during election campaigns last year—ranging from portraying LGBTQ+ people as a "foreign threat" to denouncing so-called "gender ideology." This is according to a study covering 60 countries and the European Union.

At the same time, some states recorded steps forward in political representation. Openly gay, bisexual, and transgender people ran for office in 36 countries—including, for the first time, in Botswana, Namibia, and Romania—though none were elected. In Brazil, however, the number of elected LGBTQ+ representatives doubled, reaching at least 233, according to Outright International.

The growing visibility of LGBTQ+ people over the past decade has been met with backlash from conservative segments of society, much of it fueled by far-right activists and politicians who exploit sexual orientation and gender identity as convenient targets for public frustration. "We are facing the growing weaponization of hatred," said Alberto de Belaunde, director of Outright International. Conversations with politicians in Peru, Hungary, and the United Kingdom, he added, reveal common patterns and make it clear that this is a global, coordinated, and increasingly well-funded campaign to roll back LGBTQ+ rights.

Candidates faced online attacks and hate speech from rivals and their supporters in El Salvador, Finland, Pakistan, and the United States. In the U.S., Sarah McBride became the first transgender woman elected to the House of Representatives.

During the 2024 U.S. elections, Republican campaign offices spent $200 million (£147.5 million) on transphobic television ads—on federal broadcast channels alone, excluding cable and online platforms—according to the analytics firm AdImpact.

Ahead of Georgia’s parliamentary elections in October 2024, the ruling Georgian Dream party claimed that LGBTQ+ activists were "foreign agents" of the West seeking to undermine "traditional values."

In Ghana, where same-sex relations remain criminalized under colonial-era laws, both major parties pledged in their electoral platforms to defend "family values" while accusing their opponents of sympathizing with LGBTQ+ people.

Before the June 2024 European Parliament elections—where far-right parties made significant gains—Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz-KDNP coalition declared that "the Brussels elite and Soros’s network, bloated on EU money, are waging an ideological war: re-educating our children through gender propaganda." In Germany, the Alternative for Germany party insisted it opposed recognizing "other forms of cohabitation besides the union of a man and a woman."

In Indonesia, where voting took place in February 2024, the National Commission on Human Rights condemned politicians’ statements about plans to "eradicate LGBT." And in Pakistan, although all three main parties pledged to respect the rights of transgender people, transgender candidates themselves faced insults and harassment both online and in person during the campaign.

The Outright International report stresses that the rise in discrimination against minorities is unfolding in parallel with strengthening authoritarian tendencies: "In 2024, as in previous years, LGBTQ+ communities and other marginalized groups were among the first victims of these anti-democratic attacks."